ProVision Retirees Share Wisdom

Posted: 7/28/2022

Our cooperative was built upon the know-how and wisdom of our most senior employees. For this reason, we are saddened but also thankful and encouraged whenever oneof them leaves us. In the last six months, four long-time employees have retired. Read their stories here...

DAVE KRALL: A GOOD MANAGER OF TIME

“Be a good manager of your time and be able to talk to people,” said Dave Krall, advising anyone wanting to succeed. “ He adds, “You’ll be a mobile billboard for the company.”

Dave retired Dec. 31, after a 44-year career, 37 years delivering mostly refined fuels and the past 23 year’s for the co-op. “If there was one thing that I enjoyed the most, it was being my own boss and scheduling myself. I was a one-man fuel team in the Marshfield area.”

Another fond memory I have is of customers sharing recipes with me because I like to cook. Of course, with ups comes a down every now and then. For example, there was an incident with a fuel oil tank collapsing in the basement. Myself and a crew of guys went out there in the middle of the night to help the customer clean up.

BRIAN HOOKER: AN ATTITUDE OF HUMILITY

“When I started in 1985, Cenex had the motto 'The customer is the company,'" said Brian Hooker, who retired in May as a propane delivery and service man. Good communication with your customer and co-workers is important to being successful, said Brian.

“Have an attitude of humility,” he advised. "There is not one of us who is worth anything without the rest.” Hired as a refined fuels driver for Fairchild Farmers Union, Brian’s career spanned three mergers: Hixton-Fairchild Cooperative, Federation Cooperative and ProVision Partners Cooperative. Brian appreciates the kindness and good judgement of these companies in continuing to offer work to employees on both sides.

“They didn’t have to take all of us on board, but they did—every time,” said Brian. 

JEFF SCHULTZ: TALKS WITH CUSTOMERS

Jeff started in agronomy at Unity, helping haul fertilizer and advancing to spreader operator. Later, he worked several years at the Colby feed mill. After a brief absence, he returned to the mill and stayed. Eventually, he became the mill’s manager. Jeff ended his 30 year career at the Stratford feed mill in February.

“I started from the bottom and worked my way up,” said Jeff, who became the mill manager in 1999. He faced these challenges: learning to order and inventory ingredients, taking customers’ orders, making the mixes, supervising employees and scheduling delivery of the manufactured feed. How do you succeed in feed? “Listen to the customer,” he advised. “You’d better be listening to what they ordered and putting the feed in the right bin.”

LEROY WIESMAN: WILLING TO FINISH THE JOB

Before retiring in December, Leroy’s greatest joy was meeting his customers. “I got to be friends with a lot of them,” said the trucker who delivered feed from the Stratford feed mill for 23 years.

“They’d invite me to weddings, and towards the end, I even worked with some of their kids.” Then he started in 1998, Leroy hauled more cob corn and oats. “That was a lot of shoveling,” he recalled.

Towards the end, he delivered only bulk feed, but he learned to run the whole mill. “I filled in wherever they needed me,” he says. How do you succeed in feed? “Have a work ethic and the willingness to stay until the job is done,” said Leroy. “With those two things, you can make a good living.”

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